Plexus Announces Award Of Next-Generation Coca-Cola Freestyle Fountain Dispenser

NEENAH, Wis., March 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) announced today that it is continuing its 10-year collaboration with The Coca-Cola Company to manufacture the newest iteration of the Coca-Cola Freestyle - the Coca-Cola Freestyle 9100 Fountain Dispenser.  Features include a 24-inch, high-definition touchscreen, new operating system and Bluetooth connectivity.

Plexus has been providing manufacturing, engineering and aftermarket services since the initial Freestyle contract award in 2009.  Under the new, extended agreement Plexus will also provide reliability and test solutions in support of Coca-Cola’s sustainability priorities.

Andy Hyatt, Plexus Senior Vice President – Global Customer Solutions, commented, “In 2009, The Coca-Cola Company came to Plexus with a revolutionary idea for a beverage delivery experience.  The award of this next-generation dispenser further solidifies their desire to continue to leverage Plexus’ full suite of solutions and our ability to support their entire product life cycle.  We are proud of our ten-year partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and we look forward to helping bring the newest member of the Freestyle family to life.”

Plexus’ production for Coca-Cola is housed at multiple manufacturing locations within the North America region, including Plexus’ manufacturing facility in Appleton, Wisconsin.

About Plexus Corp. – The Product Realization Company

Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to create the products that build a better world.  We are a team of over 19,000, providing global Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services.  Plexus is a global leader that specializes in serving customers in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory requirements.  Plexus delivers customer service excellence to leading global companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout the product’s lifecycle.  For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.plexus.com.

Background on Coca-Cola Freestyle

Introduced in 2009 as a disruptive innovation in the dispensed beverage segment, Coca-Cola Freestyle delivers the highest-quality beverages, unparalleled consumer choice and the ability to personalize.  The interactive beverage dispensing platform offers nearly 200 beverages across nine beverage categories, including more than 100 low- and no-calorie options and more than 90 caffeine-free choices. Freestyle ingredients are highly concentrated, and patented Micro-Dosing eliminates most of the back-room ingredients, supply chain elements and packaging.

As part of its commitment to continuous innovation, The Coca-Cola Company is constantly making insights-driven updates to in-market Coca-Cola Freestyle equipment.   

Current Coca-Cola Freestyle milestones:

• Over 50,000 dispensers in the world
• Over 5 billion annual servings
• Over 14 million 8-oz servings every day

Since its introduction, the platform has driven positive business results in terms of sales, traffic and incidence for customers.  Customer-reported metrics show a median increase of more than 8 percent in total beverage servings across all channels and more than 3 percent in traffic.